Contents
Book Series Title
Copyright
Introduction
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
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About the Author
The Harringtons
~ Love by Geek ~
Adam & Lucy
MacKenzie Shaw
Copyright © 2018 by MacKenzie Shaw. All rights reserved.
This book is intended for readers 13+.
It is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, businesses, events or locales is purely coincidental. Reproduction in whole or part of this publication without express written consent is strictly prohibited.
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Lucy Young is a shy live-in nanny who doesn't have a life outside the two young children she cares for, and her best friend, Indya. When Indya makes a decision that rocks Lucy's safe and predictable life, how is she going to cope when another person close to her throws more turmoil her way?
Adam Harrington is the youngest of five brothers and growing up he often struggled to be heard. It was easier to find solace in his room and lose himself in coding his next software project. He's just bought his own apartment, after graduating MIT ... cash, and won't be giving up his new-found independence anytime soon.
This is a clean contemporary romance short read with a HEA.
CHAPTER ONE
Adam Harrington put his key in the lock, unlocked the door and pushed it open. With a grin so wide, it made his cheeks ache, he turned to his brothers and with a grand swipe of his arm and said, "Welcome to my new home."
He'd recently graduated from MIT and, although he loved his parents, there was no way he was moving back home and giving up the freedom he'd acquired in his four years as a student. His 'side business' of creating mobile apps and software programs had allowed him to build up a very healthy nest egg ... that now had an apartment size dent in it.
"C'mon, Adam, give us a quick tour before the movers start bringing your stuff up," said Finn, as he ruffled his hair on the way past. Finn was his middle brother, and the one he was closest to. It still bothered him that he treated him like a child. At least that's how it felt. Finn had built his own gaming business when he was younger and now, since he'd met his wife, Willow, he was a promotional video creator for local and national businesses as part of their marketing agency. Adam was the youngest of five brothers. His two eldest brothers, Marcus and Alex had joined the family business, Harrington Enterprises, while he and Finn had set up their own businesses while in high school, not interested in following in their big brothers' footsteps. Noah, the only missing brother today, was currently on a world tour with his band Stroke of Midnight. He'd certainly taken a different path.
His brothers, currently taking their own tour of his new apartment, were all happily married, and it was only himself and Noah that were still single. Marcus and Carly had been married for a few years now and were expecting their first child. Finn was next to 'fall' and married Willow, a few months ago. Alex was last to 'fall' and had been happily married to Melody, his Executive Assistant for the past two years. At twenty-two, Adam felt he was too young to settle down. The world was his oyster and he wanted to enjoy it. This was his time to figure out what he wanted, without having to compromise with anyone else ... again.
He'd refused all the job offers he'd received - the jobs he hadn't applied for - head hunted by the top tech companies in the United States. He refused because he knew he wanted to be his own boss. He wanted to continue to bring his own ideas to life and reap the rewards, rather than building someone else's dreams. He'd had enough of that growing up with four older brothers.
"This is a really nice place you've got here," Marcus told him as he put his hand on his shoulder, "I'm really proud of you. We all are."
"Thanks, Marcus, it means a lot," he grinned at his brother. He was proud of what he'd achieved. Now he had time to focus on his business, he was ready to bring to market his more ambitious ideas.
It didn't take the movers long to bring his stuff up. He'd sold most of his belongings from MIT rather than shipping it home, intending to buy anything as and when he needed it. It wasn't as if he couldn't afford to indulge in making his new apartment feel like home. The new purchases he'd made were arranged to be delivered later that day, then he'd get settled in.
"If you need anything, you know where we are," Finn reminded him. "I'm assuming you want us to leave so you can get organized?"
He loved his brothers but wanted to enjoy this experience doing things his own way, rather than with his brother's bossing him around.
Adam must have been silent for too long as Alex slapped him on the back which brought him out of his thoughts, "We get it. You want your own space and anyways we've got wives to get back to and I know who I'd rather spend my time with," he winked.
"Thanks guys," he told them, as he ushered them towards the front door. "Once I'm settled and actually have a couch and somewhere to sit and eat, I'll invite you all round for a meal."
"You cook?" Finn spluttered as his left eyebrow shot up. Finn was lucky his wife and mother-in-law cooked, or he would have been surviving on takeout all these years.
Sadness trickled through him as it donned on him that they didn't know the adult version of himself. He'd not let them. They'd all left home before he had and that was when he truly began to appreciate his independence and started to explore different interests. It didn't surprise him that Finn didn't know he cooked. It was something their mother had insisted on after Finn moved out. While at MIT, fed up eating takeout and typical student food and he found he enjoyed it. Finn on the other hand, he chuckled, hired a chef.
"You mean you don't?" he grinned, knowing fine well the answer.
"No, seriously? You cook?" Finn asked, giving him a weird look he couldn't quite decipher.
"Yes, I cook," he said, and couldn't help himself as he added, "from scratch," he smirked at Finn.
Finn stared at him and said quietly, "I didn't know that about you." He shook his head and made his way out the front door, along with Marcus and Alex.
He could understand that. His brothers thought they knew him, but he'd changed quite a bit since they'd left home and was able to grow into his own personality. There was a lot about him his brothers didn't know.
CHAPTER TWO
"Who wants to go to the park?" Lucy Young asked the two small children who were currently hanging on to a leg each as she attempted to walk down the hall without tripping. She had been a live-in nanny for David & Sylvia Delgado and their two children, Tristan four, and Olivia two for the past three years. She loved working with kids and as it was a beautiful sunny day she'd planned to take them to the park and let them run off steam.
"Me! Me!" they shouted, as they untangled themselves from her legs and started to jump up and down with their hands in the air.
"Is Ben and Sean going?" asked Tristan with wide expressive eyes. Ben and Sean were twin horrors who were the same age as Tristan, luckily, they were the charge of her best friend Indya, also a live-in nanny. They'd made friends at the park almost as soon as she'd moved to the city with the Delgado's. If she was honest, Indya was her only friend here. They'd moved here when Mr Delgado got a promotion at work which meant leaving her old life behind.
"Now, what shall we pack?" she asked as she tapped her forefinger on her chin. Even though they went through this routine every time she took them to the park, they loved it. Lucy pulled out the 'park' backpack that she kept in the hall cupboard, which she always kept fully stocked, so they could just add the few fresh items and go.
"Pajamas?" she asked.
"No," they shouted, shaking their heads. "That's for bedtime."
"It's not bedtime?" she asked as she scrunched up her face in confusion.
"No, it's park time," they shouted as they grabbed her hand and led her to the kitchen.
"What do we need for park time then?" she asked.
"Juice boxes," they shouted, "and snacks."
She walked over to the refrigerator, with her two shadows close behind, "Hmm, now what do we have in here?"
"Juice boxes," they shouted as they jumped up and down, clapping their hands.
"Juice boxes," she agreed and pulled out five juice boxes. Two each for the children and one for herself. Next, she went to the fruit bowl and grabbed a few pieces of fruit to take with them, adding them to a chill pack she'd pulled out from the freezer.
"Does anyone need a toilet break before we leave?" she asked.
"Yes," they shouted. It was part of their routine that they'd all go before they left. She'd made the mistake of not asking after Tristan was potty trained and vowed not to do it again. Once they were all ready, she got Olivia's stroller out of the hall cupboard and strapped her into it, then went to wait on the elevator.
"Tristan can you please call the elevator," she asked as she looked down the hall to see where all the noise was coming from.
She couldn't wait to get out into the fresh air and to catch up with Indya. She'd often spent her days off with Indya where they'd explored the city together or enjoyed a night out sampling the many restaurants and bars on offer. Unfortunately, for her, Indya had found a boyfriend on one of these trips and had got pretty serious about him. She'd often canceled their standing date as Mateo was off at the same time. She understood it, but it made her realize just how lonely she was here. She was grateful to have the children to spend most of her time with but couldn't help being envious of her friend.
Just as they'd got into the elevator and she made sure Tristan was still holding the handle of the stroller, she went to press the button for the lobby when she heard a few voices call out for her to hold the elevator.
In a fluster, she pressed the hold button and three handsome men barged into the elevator. They all looked similar and she assumed they were related. She knew the apartment along the hall had recently been sold. Were they her new neighbors?
"Thanks for holding it," one of them said with a smile. "You live on this floor? We've just helped our little brother move into his new apartment. Seems like a nice place." His attention was still on her and she wished for the elevator door to hurry up and close and get to the lobby.
She nodded and smiled. They looked friendly but she let her shyness get the better of her, and didn't volunteer any more information, although she wanted to.
"I'm Alex, these are my brothers, Marcus and Finn. It's nice to meet one of Adam's new neighbors," he continued, obviously he didn't notice her discomfort, or maybe he did and was trying to put her at ease.
"Lucy," she managed to say before sucking in a breath, "and this is Tristan and Olivia." There that wasn't too bad.
"Nice to meet you, Lucy," he said. The other brothers gave her a friendly smile and kept their distance, so as not to crowd her and the children. It wasn't that big of an elevator.
Luckily, nobody else called the elevator on their way down and they reached the lobby in next to no time. They waited patiently while she got the stroller out of the elevator and she made sure Tristan was still holding on. Then one brother slipped by her to open the lobby door for her.
She smiled and thanked him. He was certainly a gentleman and she began to wonder what her new neighbor was like. If he was anything like his brothers, she couldn't wait to meet him. Now where had that come from?
CHAPTER THREE
It hadn't taken Adam long to unpack the few boxes the movers had brought up and the delivery men who'd brought his new furniture had just left. He looked around the apartment with a contented smile on his face. Yes, he'd be very happy here. The apartment had three bedrooms, each with their own bathroom, an office, a cloakroom, a kitchen a professional chef would be proud of with a utility room off it and a large living space. It was four times the size of the apartment he'd rented as a student, and it was all his.
The apartment building was fully serviced and boasted a gym, swimming pool and underground parking. It was everything he needed to start the next stage of his life.
His friends at MIT, most of whom had taken jobs in Silicon Valley, had asked him why he'd bothered graduating when he had his own company. Most of his peers who had started their own companies, dropped out as soon as they started making any money. It was a good question. Before he'd started at MIT he'd only dabbled in creating some mobile apps and a couple of software applications, it was more a hobby to fill his spare time.
Another thing, the more freedom he got, away from his family, the more freedom he craved. He loved his family, but he felt everyone had an opinion about his future, never once asking him about what he wanted, or rather they did ask, they just didn't listen to his answers.
During the four years at MIT, rather than getting a part-time job like many students, he'd used that time to build his business. He'd created a couple of software applications under the SAAS (Software as a Service) business model. It wasn't long until it added six figures to his bank account each month. He had thought about dropping out, but he used that time to learn and more importantly, ask questions of his lecturers who were the top lecturers in their field. Not to mention he wanted to experience the college lifestyle, which he did, to the fullest.
He looked at his watch, it was just after three. He needed to buy groceries and grab something for his lunch that he missed. He swiped his wallet and keys off the counter and made his way out the door to get the elevator.
As the elevator reached his floor a young woman, with long auburn hair, tied up in a messy bun came out pushing a stroller and holding the hand of a young boy who looked to be four or five. She looked too young to have two children. She gave him a shy smile while she maneuvered them all towards the nearest apartment door. They must be his new neighbors.
"Hi, I'm Adam. I just moved in to 1608," he blurted out. He'd need to work on his social skills.
She turned around just as she'd opened her front door. "I'm Lucy. This is Tristan and Olivia. Welcome to the building," she said, avoiding direct eye contact with him.
"Nice to meet you, Lucy," he said as he stepped backwards into the open elevator, "and you too Tristan." The little girl was fast asleep in her stroller.
She smiled and pushed the stroller further into her apartment as the elevator doors closed. He'd not met any of his neighbors when he'd initially viewed the apartment. He'd been told the building was full of young professionals. It had been one of the reasons he'd bought it because he wanted to make new friends to socialize with. Working from home and having a virtual team, that lived all over the world, didn't make for a great social life and he was determined not to spend all his days shut in his office, working. No matter how tempting that could be, especially when he was working on his new software project and time just seemed to slip away.
Unfortunately, the first person he'd met in the building was married with young kids. Not a great start to expanding his social life.
CHAPTER FOUR
"Hey, I thought you weren't coming," Lucy shouted to Indya when she spotted her racing to keep up with the twins. They ran at breakneck speed toward Tristan on the jungle gym. She was thankful she had Tristan and Olivia, and not the twins, to look after.
Indya she sucked in mouthfuls of air, bent over and hands on her hips, "Sorry, I had to make a detour. I dropped into th
e realtors and was longer than I expected."
"Realtors?" said Lucy, raising her eyebrow in confusion.
"Yeah, sorry it's all happened so fast," Indya said with a huge grin. She straightened up and checked to see where the twins were then continued, "Mateo asked me to move in with him! Isn't that great news?"
This was the last thing she'd expected her to say. Indya's job was a live-in one so moving in with her boyfriend wasn't allowed unless she was also looking for new employment. Her mind started to go down a track she didn't want it to go. She knew it was unnecessarily selfish of her, so she plastered on a fake smile for her friend to congratulate her.
"That's great news, Indya. I'm so happy for you!" she forced out and immediately felt the guilt seeping in. She wrapped her arms around her best friend who looked to be walking on cloud nine at her news. "I thought Mateo had a place?"
"He shares with a few guys he works with, but he's just been given a promotion and it means he can finally afford to move out and get his own place ... he asked me to move in with him," Indya explained, excitement radiating off her.
"Oh wow, that's great. Tell Mateo congratulations from me. How did Mr and Mrs Franklin take the news?" Mr and Mrs Franklin were Indya's employers as well as Ben and Sean's parents. She knew, from what Indya had told her, they didn't allow Mateo into their apartment and weren't too happy about the relationship, so she couldn't blame her for wanting to jump at this opportunity.
The grin slipped from Indya's face, a frown quickly replaced it. "They don't know yet. My position's live-in so I've not broached the subject with them. I was kinda hoping, as the boys are older now, that they'd allow me to still work for them but without the live-in part. If not, I'll be looking for a new job because I'm not letting it get in between me and Mateo moving in together. We need to find a place first anyway so no point jumping the gun."
Love by Geek (The Harringtons Book 4) Page 1
